Department of Health and Social Care

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his contribution of 19 October 2020, Official report, column 790, for what reasons directors of public health in Tier (a) 1 and (b) 2 covid-19 restriction areas do not have discretion to allow routine visits to care homes.

Helen Whately: For visits to happen, a provider needs to assess and balance the risk of local prevalence and the ability of the care home to manage the visit safely. This dynamic risk assessment must formally take into account the advice of the local Director of Public Health.On 5 November we published guidance to enable COVID-19-secure visits for care home residents while national restrictions are in place. The guidance will enable care home providers, families and local professionals to work together to find the right balance between the benefits of visiting on wellbeing and quality of life, and the risk of transmission of COVID-19 to social care staff and vulnerable residents.

Health Services and Social Services: Staff

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) NHS workers and (b) social care staff have died from covid-19 since (i) March 2020 and (ii) September 2020.

Helen Whately: The Office for National Statistics publishes mortality data for deaths involving COVID-19 for healthcare workers and social care workers in England and Wales. The last iteration of this release showed that in England there were 305 deaths involving COVID-19 among healthcare workers and 307 deaths involving COVID-19 among social care workers.These were registered between 9 March and 12 October 2020 in England, of those aged 20-64 years, using the last known occupation. The definition of healthcare workers used will include not only those employed in the National Health Service but wider healthcare sector workers.

Continuing Care

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will review the effectiveness of the Decision Support Tool used for assessing Continuing Health Care eligibility.

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to reduce the (a) length of time taken for the Continuing Health Care eligibility appeals process and (b) effect of that process on individuals and families going through it.

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to (a0 monitor the delivery of Continuing Health Care (CHC) assessments and (b) ensure that CHC assessments are carried out by an appropriately constituted multi-disciplinary team with adequate knowledge of the condition to make an informed decision.

Helen Whately: There are currently no plans to review the effectiveness of the Decision Support Tool (DST). The DST was originally developed in 2007 and has been reviewed periodically since then, with the most recent iteration being published in 2018.The National Framework for Continuing Healthcare (CHC) and NHS Funded Nursing Care (the Framework) encourages eligibility appeals to be processed in a timely manner. It also lays out the expectation for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to engage in a person-centred approach, ensuring the individual, and/or their representative, is fully aware of, and involved in, the processes. Upon completion of the assessment, a clear explanation of how the decision of eligibility was reached should be provided, as well as an explanation of the appeals process.There are Assurance Standards in place, which allow NHS England to monitor the performance of CCGs on the delivery of CHC assessments. The Framework sets out that CHC assessments must be undertaken by a multi-disciplinary team.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of public procurement policy and Serco sub-contracting to Concentrix to provide staff for the contact tracing scheme.

Helen Whately: Serco are required to appoint sub-contractors in line with the terms and conditions for the primary contract awarded under the CCS framework. The CCS guidance states that if a prime contractor wishes to enter into subcontracts or replace them, they must obtain the prior consent of the contracting authority. Serco have worked with the Cabinet Office and the Department to engage a spread of regional and national providers, including small and medium sized enterprises, who have been integrated, trained and supported by Serco to meet the Department’s required delivery model.

In Vitro Fertilisation: Coronavirus

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will extend the patient age limit to ensure that all fertility patients in England will remain eligible for NHS-funded care despite delays caused by the covid-19 outbreak.

Helen Whately: The Government expects clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to give fair consideration to all patients who have had fertility treatment delayed so that no one misses out on treatment due to COVID-19.NHS England has agreed a joint statement with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, to encourage CCGs to give special consideration to the need for flexibility and sensitivity for individuals whose waiting times, investigations or planned treatment have been disrupted due to COVID-19. This is to ensure that all women and their partners seeking fertility treatment are treated fairly. The statement was sent to the National Health Service on 6 November 2020.

Autism: Mental Health Services

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to improve access to personalised, evidenced, community-based mental health services as recommended in the National Autistic Society’s Left Stranded report and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism’s The Autism Act, 10 Years On report.

Helen Whately: The NHS Long Term Plan commits to investing at least £2.3 billion of extra funding a year in mental health services by 2023/24 to support adults and children, including autistic people. This includes a focus on improving access to community mental health services.We are currently developing a new cross-government all-age autism strategy, which will consider autistic people’s mental health needs. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism’s report informed the strategy’s development, as did the National Autistic Society’s Left Stranded report, which highlighted the impact of COVID-19 on autistic people.

Disability: Coronavirus

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that inquiries into covid-19 inequalities include the impact of that matter on disabled people.

Helen Whately: We continue to review all available evidence and have commissioned new research to gain a greater understanding of the specific impact of COVID-19 for disabled people.The Department has also commissioned research to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the wellbeing and lives of people with learning disabilities. This project is being led by researchers at the University of Warwick and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Abortion: Disability

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it his Department's policy that (a) Down's syndrome, (b) cleft lip, and (c) cleft palate are disabilities that would meet the grounds for abortion under Ground E of the statutory grounds for abortion.

Helen Whately: Under the Abortion Act 1967, a pregnancy may be lawfully terminated by a registered medical practitioner in approved premises, if two medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith, that the abortion is justified under one or more of grounds A to G. Ground E refers to cases where “there is substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped”. There is no official definition of seriously handicapped.In 1990, when the grounds for abortion were amended, Parliament agreed that doctors were best placed to make these decisions with the woman and her family. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists issued guidance to doctors ‘Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality in England, Scotland and Wales’ in May 2010 to assist doctors and other health professionals.

NHS Pay Review Body

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the remit letters for the NHS Pay Review Body for 2021-22 will be issued; and for what reasons they have not already been issued.

Helen Whately: Due to the timing of the Spending Review this year, we currently expect to issue a remit letter for 2021-22 to the Pay Review Bodies in the coming weeks. The Government will carefully consider the Bodies’ recommendations when we receive them.

Abortion: Drugs

Sir Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the 27 December 2018 approval of the home of a pregnant woman in England who is undergoing treatment for termination of pregnancy as a class of place where the second stage of treatment for early medical abortion may be carried out, how many maternal deaths occurred under the 27 December 2018 approval as a result of the second abortion pill taken at home in (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020 to date.

Helen Whately: It is not possible to identify the type of abortion performed from the mortality statistics. Mortality statistics published by the Office of National Statistics, show that for there was one death in 2018 where abortion was listed as the underlying cause of death on the death certificate. There were no deaths recorded in 2019. Data for 2020 is not available.The Department is aware of reports of two women who died after seeking abortion treatment earlier this year. Both deaths have been appropriately investigated and in one case investigations are continuing. For the other case, the coroner concluded that there was no evidence to suggest the pregnancy or abortion contributed to the death either directly or indirectly. Both women attended an abortion service in person and based on information provided to the Department, at least one of these women was supplied with pills to take at home under the 2018 approval.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

Kate Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that businesses (a) correctly display the QR code for the NHS Test and Trace app or (b) take contact details where use of that app is not possible.

Helen Whately: Displaying an official National Health Service QR code poster and collecting contact details for NHS Test and Trace for certain venues is a legal requirement for designated businesses and venues in England. If a customer or visitor chooses to check in by scanning the NHS QR code, they do not also need to provide their contact details. Local authorities are enforcers of this regulation in England and have the power to issue fines starting from £1,000 for venues that are failing to comply. Fines will rise to £10,000 for repeat offenders. The police can be used as a last resort.We have held stakeholder engagement meetings with each of the sectors in scope of the guidance to explain the policy and provide an opportunity for question. We have also published advice on how to print and display the official NHS QR code poster which is available at the following link:https://faq.covid19.nhs.uk/article/KA-01258/en-us

Carers: Coronavirus

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what process is in place for carers who attend the homes of their clients to obtain regular covid-19 testing.

Helen Whately: Home care workers employed by Care Quality Commission-registered organisations are able to access weekly PCR tests, which can be self-administered at home. This will help identify whether any home care workers have COVID-19 asymptomatically and thereby provide further protection – in addition to the use of personal protective equipment to those they care for.

Coronavirus: Slough

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of covid-19 test results received within 24 hours from tests administered in Slough constituency.

Helen Whately: We have been focused on improving test turnaround times alongside expanding capacity and these are getting significantly better. Three out of five people who were tested in-person received their test result the very next day. Between 29 October and 4 November, the median time taken to receive a test result for regional test sites decreased to 27 hours from 31 hours in the previous week. Similarly, the median time decreased for local test sites to 29 hours from 33 hours and for mobile testing units to 25 hours from 29 hours during the same period

Coronavirus: Screening

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS staff working directly in the care and treatment of people who are immuno-compromised are being prioritised for covid-19 testing even when asymptomatic; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Whately: Asymptomatic testing is currently mainly conducted for outbreak investigation and infection control - where prevalence is thought to be higher and/or where individuals are more at risk from COVID-19. This includes patients, National Health Service staff, care home staff and residents.As capacity increases and new innovations come onstream, and as we gain new clinical and scientific evidence, we will continually review our approach to asymptomatic testing to ensure we are deploying it in the most effective way and expand our testing offer.

Test and Trace Support Payment

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people are eligible to receive the Test and Trace Support Payment if part of their period of self-isolation commenced before the scheme was introduced.

Helen Whately: The National Health Service Test and Trace Support Payment was a new scheme introduced on 28 September 2020, it is only for people who are told to self-isolate on or after this date and who meet the relevant eligibility criteria.However, an individual may wish to make enquiries with their local authority about the discretionary fund available to individuals who do not qualify for the Test and Trace Support Payment but require corresponding financial support to self-isolate.For both the Test and Trace Support Payment and discretionary payments, eligible individuals will receive their £500 payment on top of any benefits and Statutory Sick Pay that they currently receive.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many samples were lost from the test and trace programme in each of the last four weeks for which data is available; how many samples given to that programme it was not possible to test during those periods; and how many results within that programme were not sent to people who had been tested during those periods.

Helen Whately: We do not publish data in the format requested.

Coronavirus: Screening

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list the (a) location and (b) main contractor for each of the covid-19 drive through testing centres.

Helen Whately: The Government does not publish this data in the format requested. All the Departmental COVID-19 contracts are, or will be, published on GOV.UK’s Contract Finder.

Coronavirus

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the statistics for people who have tested positive for covid-19 and have since recovered from that virus.

Helen Whately: The Government does not publish data in the format requested.

Coronavirus: Screening

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many officials in his Department monitor the contracts for the covid-19 drive through testing centres to ensure all contractual obligations are met.

Helen Whately: Currently 47 officials monitor the contracts for the COVID-19 drive through testing centres to ensure all contractual obligations are met. This figure is based on commercial and operational personnel.

Coronavirus: Screening

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which companies hold contracts with the Government for the management of covid-19 drive through testing centres; and whether they employ any subcontractors.

Helen Whately: The Government does not publish this data in the format requested. All the Departmental COVID-19 contracts are, or will be, published on the GOV.UK’s Contract Finder.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on NHS Test and Trace by region in England.

Helen Whately: The information is not available in the format requested.

Coronavirus: Laboratories

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which university and college laboratories  in the West Midlands have been commissioned by NHS Test and Trace to process covid-19 samples.

Helen Whately: In the West Midlands, the University of Birmingham has joined the effort in increasing capacity to over 500,000 tests a day.

Coronavirus

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to gather and use information from covid-19 testing on viral load; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Whately: The Department does not gather information on viral load testing as it is not possible to accurately measure viral load when testing swabs. Semi-quantitative estimates of viral load are however used in quality assuring tests and in differentiation of early and convalescent COVID-19 infection as a part of the operation of NHS Test and Trace.

NHS 111: Coronavirus

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the Library a list of the private contractors used by his Department to deliver the NHS 111 covid-19 response service.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which private providers have been contracted to run the NHS 111 Coronavirus Response Service.

Helen Whately: The Department has not awarded contracts for the delivery of the COVID-19 Response Service (CRS). The CRS is run by South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.Contracts for the CRS are held with Teleperformance, Sitel and Serco.

Coronavirus: Humber Bridge

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are employed (a) in total and (b) in each (i) age and (ii) gender category at the NHS covid-19 testing site at the Humber Bridge car park; and who their employer is.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are employed on (a) permanent and (b) agency contracts at the NHS covid-19 testing site at the Humber Bridge car park; and which agencies are used for those contracts.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff working at the NHS covid-19 testing site at the Humber Bridge car park have tested positive for covid-19 in each month since April 2020.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many members of staff working at the NHS covid-19 testing site at the Humber Bridge car park have had to self isolate since the site opened in April 2020.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many members of staff working at the NHS covid-19 testing site at the Humber Bridge car park have received contractual sick pay as a result of (a) having to self-isolate and (b) testing positive for covid-19 since the site opened in April 2020.

Helen Whately: We do not publish data in the format requested.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason home care workers who visit multiple extremely clinically vulnerable people per week are not routinely tested for covid-19.

Helen Whately: Home care workers employed by Care Quality Commission-registered organisations are able to access weekly PCR tests, which can be self-administered at home. This will help identify whether any home care workers have COVID-19 asymptomatically and thereby provide further protection – in addition to the use of personal protective equipment to those they care for.

NHS: Coronavirus

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS employees in England have recovered from covid-19 after receiving a positive test result.

Helen Whately: The information requested is not available in the format requested.

Test and Trace Support Payment

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications there have been for the covid-19 Test and Trace Support Payment; and how many of those applications have been successful.

Helen Whately: We are working closely with all 314 local authorities in England to collate information on the number of applications and successful applications for the Test and Trace Support Payment. We will publish this information in due course.

Test and Trace Support Payment: North West

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are eligible for the £500 Test and Trace Support Payment for self-isolating in (a) the North West, (b) Liverpool City Region, (c) Wirral and (d) Wallasey; and of those people so eligible how many of those people have (i) claimed and (ii) received that payment.

Helen Whately: We are working closely with all 314 lower tier and unitary local authorities to collate information on how the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme is progressing and will release information on the number of applications, number of successful applications and amounts paid out in due course.

Coronavirus: North West

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of covid-19 tests in (a) the North West, (b) Liverpool city region, (c) Merseyside, (d) Wirral and (e) Wallasey constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Whately: We are increasing our testing capacity, both through current swab testing and new, rapid lateral flow tests to cut the spread of COVID-19 nationwide.The United Kingdom’s daily testing capacity passed the 500,000 mark on 31 October. Testing capacity in the UK across all pillars between 29 October and 4 November was at 4,367,049 tests, an increase of 21% compared to the previous week.Our mass testing pilot in Liverpool continues and will help inform any future rollout of large-scale population testing. Any confirmed expansion will be announced in due course.

Coronavirus: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to roll out lateral flow covid-19 testing in Havering.

Helen Whately: The Borough of Havering made a request in the week of 9 November to be added to the Departmental list of participating local authorities.We have received their request and will work with them as they prepare to receive lateral flow test to use as per their priorities.